These things says He: As Jesus described Himself, He used terms that emphasized His character as the Master of every spiritual power and authority. вЂThese things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars:ДЄ.

(1b) Jesus describes Himself to the church at Sardis. the armies of Antiochus the Great (III) captured the city by the same method.вЂќ (Walvoord) 2. the Persian King Cyrus had ended the rule of Croesus by scaling the cliffs under the cover of darkness. вЂњAlthough the situation of the city was ideal for defense, as it stood high above the valley of Hermus and was surrounded by deep cliffs almost impossible to scale, Sardis had twice before fallen because of overconfidence and failure to watch.

Curiously, the same thing happened almost 200 years later when Antiochus attacked and conquered the overconfident city that didnвЂ™t set a watch. The soldiers of Sardis were so confident in the natural defenses of their city they felt no need to keep a diligent watch, so the city was easily conquered.

They easily climbed the cliffs, came to the actual city walls and found them unguarded. He marked the location of the trail and led a detachment of troops up it that night. He watched as the soldier climbed down a hidden trail to recover his helmet. One solider studied the problem carefully, and as he looked he saw a soldier defending Sardis drop his helmet down the cliff walls. He offered a rich reward to any soldier in his army who could figure out a way to get up to the city. There seemed to be no way to scale the steep cliff walls surrounding the city. King Cyrus came to Sardis, and found the position of the city ideally suited for defense. The Greek historian Herodotus tells the story of the fall of Sardis in days of Cyrus. This softness, this lack of discipline and dedication, was the doom of Sardis on a few different occasions. Sardis was a city of the decadence.вЂќ (Barclay) Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure-and luxury loving. вЂњThe great characteristic of Sardis was that, even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Sardis: The combination of easy money and a loose moral environment made the people of Sardis notoriously soft and pleasure loving. This mother goddess was honored and worshipped with all kinds of sexual immorality and impurity.Д¬. From the ruins of that temple we can see that its main columns were 60 feet (20 meters) high and more than 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. In Sardis there was a large, stately temple to the mother goddess, Cybele. It had a well-deserved reputation for apathy and immorality. Sardis: This city was also a city well known for its softness and luxury. Sardis was the place where modern money was born.вЂќ (Barclay)Д«. These roughly formed electrum staters were the beginning of money in the modern sense of the term. вЂњIt is of interest to note that the first coinage ever to be minted in Asia Minor was minted in Sardis in the days of Croesus. The connection between Sardis and money вЂ“ easy money вЂ“ was well known in the ancient world. Yet it was a wealthy city, situated at the junction of several important roads and trade routes. The church in Sardis: At the time Jesus spoke these words to John, the ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and had started to decline.

вЂњAnd to the angel of the church in Sardis write,ДЄ. (1a) The character of the city of Sardis. Revelation 3 вЂ“ JesusвЂ™ Letters to the Churches (Continued) A.

Cod 3 revelations